CLIENT
Salesian High School
New Rochelle, New York
SERVICE
Advancement Assessment, National Search &
Leadership Coaching
RECOMMENDATIONS
16
COACHING
Eight sessions
The Challenge
Salesian High School was ready to begin a new chapter in advancement. The school needed to understand the strengths and gaps in its current effort, define the leadership profile required for the future, and find a Director of Advancement prepared to focus on major gifts, planned giving, and personal cultivation.
Rather than treating assessment, hiring, and formation as separate assignments, Salesian sought one continuous Catholic school advancement consulting process.
The Approach
ISPD began with a comprehensive advancement assessment: 25 one-on-one interviews with trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and friends; a review of major school documents; and an evaluation of 23 areas of school life with particular attention to Operational Vitality.
The Assessment produced 16 recommendations. The first was clear: hire a Director of Advancement oriented toward relationships and major-gift work rather than event execution. ISPD then led the national search, resulting in the appointment of alumnus and professional marketer Anthony Giaccone ’83.
ISPD is now conducting an eight-session, one-on-one coaching engagement grounded in the Assessment findings and two ISPD publications on Catholic school development and advancement.
The Results
Salesian enters its next advancement chapter with a Director who already understands its community and mission. The coaching process will produce an Advancement Team Handbook, a lay-led Annual Fund structure and 2026–27 calendar, a working major-donor portfolio system, and practical command of relationship-based invitation. The school is building the foundation now so that a future capital campaign can be transformational rather than premature.
25
one-on-one assessment interviews
16
recommendations for stronger operational vitality
8
individual coaching sessions for the new director
The Lesson
Hiring the right advancement leader is only the beginning. Assessment, search, selection, and formation work best as one connected process grounded in the school’s mission and its actual organizational needs.
